The pale green 90’s carpet in the bedroom of our cabin was way too dirty and faded to keep. I love wood flooring instead of carpet any day, but I wanted to keep the budget low for this remodel. The price of finished wood flooring has recently spiked. So I shopped around, and in the end, decided to DIY some pine floors myself! It was the lowest-cost wood floor option I could find AND it turned out great. Let me show you how.
Here’s the old green carpet that had to go! This DIY pine floors project is part of a full room remodel you can find here.
![Office before](https://i0.wp.com/onehundredacreshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Before-jack-and-jill-cleanfull.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
Pine Boards:
To keep costs to a minimum, I decided to use 1×6 white pine boards. This room needed 40 twelve foot long boards or the equivalent. My local Lowes had a nice large selection of kiln-dried whitewood pine. I searched for the best boards and made it home with just enough.
Using kiln-dried boards is key here! You want the boards to be dimensionally stable and not prone to warping over time. Buying them kiln-dried will mean that you simply need to acclimate the wood to your space for a few days and can install them without much worry of warping, assuming you allow for an expansion gap! More on that later.
How to DIY Tongue & Groove Pine Boards:
I got the boards home and started processing them on a router table to add tongue and groove edges (T&G). The T&G will help lock the boards together and prevent relative vertical movement between the boards.
Here are the boards about mid-way through the T&G install. I don’t have a proper workshop (as of yet!) so I simply set up a makeshift work table and made what I had work.
![pine board tongue and groove](https://i0.wp.com/onehundredacreshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Pine-Board-TG.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
My husband had bought the router table a few years back because he likes to buy tools, lol. It was sitting in our small shed, unused. So this project was a good use for it. He found it on Amazon here. I bought the T&G router bits off Amazon too. They worked great once I got them adjusted to the proper height.
Don’t let this intimidate you! This was my first time using a router table. My only instruction was from the instruction manual and some YouTube videos. The T&G does not have to be perfect by any means. If you’re thinking of trying this, I’d say just go for it. Use some scrap boards to test things out first. Then you’re on your way.
If you don’t want to route your own boards, but still want to go with a low-cost pine option, you could buy unfinished pine floors from a local flooring store such as Lumber Liquidators. I almost went that route but the flooring reviews noted a lot of warped boards. I decided to give the router table a try.
YONICO Router Bits Tongue & Groove Set
This 2 bit matching tongue and groove router bit set cuts a 1/4″ thick x 1/4″ deep tongue for stock up to 3/4″ thick. 1/2″ shanks.
BOSCH Benchtop Router Table
- Benchtop router table design – Features a large aluminum top for extended work area, durability and precision
- Rigid aluminum mounting plate – Pre-drilled for compatibility with a variety of routers and for above-table height adjustment
- Extra tall aluminum fence – Has adjustable faceplates and feather boards to maximize precision and versatility
Bottom Kerf Pine Boards:
If you buy wood flooring from a supplier, you’ll likely see the bottom side of the boards have grooves or kerfs made along the length of the boards. This helps keep the boards from expanding, particularly along the bottom, which could cause the boards to “cup” or bow upward.
I decided to do a really quick and dirrrrty DIY kerf by making a few runs with the circular saw along the bottom of boards set to about 1/8″ depth. Here is picture of my processed T&G plus kerfed board. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know for sure if this really helps, but it made me feel better about things.
![kerf pine board flooring](https://i0.wp.com/onehundredacreshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Kerfed-board.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
Cordless Circular Saw
- Power – Brushless motor of DEWALT 7 1/4 circular saw provides 5500RPM maintaining speed under load
- Runtime – The cordless circular saw provides 330 crosscuts in 2×4 (pine)
- Capacity – 7-1/4-inch blade of the compact circular saw provides 2-9/16-inch cutting capacity at 90 degrees
Pine Floor Underlayment:
Before installing the pine boards, I installed Quiet Walk underlayment. This product is labeled for use under a floating floor install. However, I installed a nail-down floor like we’ll do here a few years prior and used this underlayment without issue. My local Lumber Liquidators told me it was fine, so I went with it. It’s been great. I simply stapled the Quiet Walk to the floor sheathing below at sensible intervals.
![Flooring Underlayment](https://i0.wp.com/onehundredacreshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GYYH0660.jpg?resize=1024%2C772&ssl=1)
I like that it adds some sound dampening and a tiny bit of insulation. Here is the installed Quiet Walk. You can see I’ve already removed some walls and painted. More on those room updates here if you’re interested.
![Flooring Underlayment](https://i0.wp.com/onehundredacreshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Quiet-Walk-Install.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
Quite Walk Underlayment
- ✔ Superior Sound Reduction ‐ Recycled fibers absorb sound and keep it from traveling to other rooms. Makes click-together floating floors sound solid underfoot.
- ✔ Compression Resistant ‐ Dense intertwined structure supports the seams of your floor and won’t compress under consistent foot traffic.
- ✔ Moisture Protection ‐ Unique Dri-Wick technology allows concrete subfloors to breathe, preventing moisture vapor emissions from becoming trapped. The attached vapor barrier protects the overlying floors from damage. Also for use over wood subfloors.
Staple Gun Heavy Duty
Versatile Fastening Tool – YEAHOME 4-in-1 Staple Gun accepts D-shaped, U-shaped, T-shaped, and Pin Staples. This kit comes with 1000pcs of each ” D-Type, ” T-Type, ” U-Type , and ” Pin Brad Nails for a wide variety of applications: general DIY repairs, crafting, decorating, upholstery projects, roofing, and more.